Compression of elastic fluids.



No. 832,783. PATENTED OCT. 9, 1906. S. Z. DE FERRANTI.

COMPRESSION 0F ELASTIC FLUIDS.

APPLICATION FILED 001*. 19. 1903.

B SHEBTSSHEET 1.

No 832,783. PATENTED OCT. 9, 1906.

s. 2. DE FERRANTI.

COMPRESSION 0F ELASTIC FLUIDS. APPLIOATIOHIILBD 00T.19. 1903.

8 SHEETS-BHEET 2.

No 832,783. PATENTED 001". 9, 1906.

S. Z. DE FERRANTI. COMPRESSION 0F ELASTIC FLUIDS.

APPLIOATION FILED 00119. 1903.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 3 G 7 warm zdefyrm;

PATENTED OCT. 9, 1906.

s. 2. DE FBRRANTI.

COMPRESSION 0P ELASTIC FLUIDS.

APPLIbATIOI FILED OUT. 19. 1903.

8 BHEETSSHBET 4 No. 832,783. PATENTED OCT. 9, 1906.

S. Z. DE FERRANTI.

COMPRESSION 0F ELASTIC FLUIDS.

' APPLICATION FILED 00119. 1903.

- s SHEETS-SHEETS.

s w L i T I f 3 W; 21 s if I lb.

PATENTED OCT. 9, 1906.

s. 2. DE PERRANTI. COMPRESSION 0F ELASTIC FLUIDS.

APPLICATION FILED OGT.19. 1908.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 8 PATENTED OCT. 9, 1906. S. Z. DE FERRANTI. COMPRESSION 0F ELASTIC FLUIDS.

APPLIOATIOH FILED 0012.19. 1903.

8 SHEETS-SHEET'T No. 832,783. PATENTED 005.. 9, 1906 S. Z. DE PERRANTI. COMPRESSION OF ELASTIC FLUIDS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 19. 1903.

8 SHEETSSHE-ET 8- W Y weaww Z Jaw Z;

; Compression of Elastic Fluids, (for which 11 have made application in Great Britain, No.

pressor has only been employed 'therto to UNITED sTArEs- PATENT ()FFIQE 3 S/E-BASTIAN. ZIANI'DE FERRANTI, OF' LoNDoN, ENGLAND.

i no. 832,783.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SEBASTIAN ZIANI DE FERRANTI, a subject of the King ofGreat Britain and Ireland, and a resident .of 31 Lyndhurst road, Hampstead, London, N. W., England, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in and Relating to the 22,846, bearing date of October 20, 1902,) of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to elastic-fluid compressors, and especially such as'are adapted for attaining highcompression pressures.

The compression plants at present known are of three types: first, single or multiple stage piston compressors; second, multiple fan or turbine type compressors, and, third, compressors employing the energy of a colume ofrwater falling under gravity to entrain and compress the elastic fluid. In all compressors of the first type by means of which pressures of one hundred pounds per square inch and u ward can be obtained with a moderately 'gh efliciency the bulk and complexity of the apparatus are great, as is also the cost. Again, with compressors of the second type it is owingto the difficulties which occur practically impossible to attain efficiently pressures of one hundred pounds and upward, while the third ty e of comeflect compression by means of water falling under gravity, as occurs in the case of the utilization of a' waterfall for the purpose of compression. Hi h pressures can only be obtained with suc an arrangement at very great expense, and the proportion of water to air has hitherto always been too eat to enable highefliciencies to be attained:

Now my invention has for its object to render possible the attainment of veryhigh compression pressilres .in'"'a simple and efficient manner-that is, directly from a rotary motion without reciprocating parts.

-My invention consists inthe features and combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described, and particularly; pointed out in the claims.

My invention in all cases comprises a rotary or centrifugal pump or circulator, means for effecting the entrainment of elastic fluid I with the liquid, means for-cooling the circulated liquid which i'sthe medium of-compression, so that the com ression may be pi'ac tically isothermal, an means for separating Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed October 19, 1903. Serial No. 177,703.

COMPRESSION OF ELASTIC FLUIDS.

Patented Oct. 9, 1906.

the liqui being either used again in the cycle to conserve the energy it contains or being re'ected by wayoi amotor whose work is ad ed to.

that of the system.

A compressor according to one form of my-invention adapted to compress air, con- .sists of tubes, into" which liquid under prespistons. The tubes may be arranged as av ring to receive liquid shot out radially or at some suitable angle to the radii of the centrifugal or rotary thrower, or the liquid ma be supplied through oscillating jets or their equivalents, the jets being adapted to oscillate between tubes, so that air is entrained.

-My invention contemplates providing for the discharge of the liquid into the separating-chamber at a velocity as nearly zero as possible or for utilizing such velocity: as it possesses to supply power to ald mthe compression, so that the ener it represents may not be lost.

(1 from the elastic fluid, said liquid their kinetic energy in compressing .Referring to the accompanying drawings,

Figures 1 and 2 are .sideelevations and plan, respectively, of a form of compressor having a centrifugal thrower and working in a closed cycle, Fig. 3 being a corresponding end view.

Fig. 4 shows a modified form ofthe above in.

which the pressure energy of the compressing liquid is .utilized in .drivm turbine or the like, while Fig. 5 s owe a similar arrangement working in an open cycle. Fig. 6 shows in sectional elevation a generalarrangement of apparatus embodying a thrower of the nature shown in the above drawings and driven electrically. Fig. 7 is an elevation, partly in section, of another arrangement of parts, Fi 8' being a detail view of the rotating nozz e employed, while Fi 9 shows a modification which an oscilfating nozzle is used.

a suitable Thedrawings. being of a diagrammatic nature merely, I do not confine myself in any.

way to the precise proportions or details parts shown therein.

In constructing a rotary air-compressoraccording to one form, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, suitable for working in a closed cycle I provide a number of fixed tubes a in a ring, with their inlets disposed toward the center. Within the ring of inlets I rotate a jet centrifugal pump or liquid-thrower b. This ump comprises a central admission for iquid (shown in Fig. 1 as supplied through the nozzle 0) and one or more circumferential discharge-nozzles (1, arranged so that the liquid discharges around the ring of inletorifices of the fixed air-compression tubes (1' at a high velocity and intermittently. Nonreturn valves may be arranged, if necessary, in any suitable position on the compressiontubes. The central centrifugal thrower b is rotated at a high velocity and the nozzles 11 are so placed that air-supply passages e intervene between the liquid-jets. The effect of rotating the centrifugal thrower is therefore to discharge into the fixed rin of pipes alternate liquid-pistons and air-plugs to be compressed, the nozzles being arranged at suitable angles with the tubes to avoid shock. The liquid discharges along each compressing-tube a with great velocity, compressing the air before it into one or more separating-chambers f, arranged, preferably, circum'ferentially, and at the same time loses the greater part of its velocity. I so shape the compressing-tubes a by gradually enlarging their cross-sections as to favor this reduction of velocity as much as possible.

The compressing liquid and air pass together.

out of the separating-chambers f by way of the pipes h it into the additiona separator t,

in which the bafiie plates or trays k k corn-v plete the separation. When convenient, the separation of the liquid and air may be ac complished in a single separator of suitable dimensions. To obtain high efiiciencies, it is essential to make use of the energy of the liquid under pressure in the se aratingchamber. This may be convenient y accomplished, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, by causing the liquid to return to the centrifugal thrower by way of the pipes Z Z and contracting nozzle 0, the liquid in ,this manner acquiring a high velocity. A" suitable cooler 'm is interposed in the line of ipes -Z Z, the circulating-water service-pipes or the cooler being shown at n n. The air compressed is led away from the separating-chamber '1', by

compression of the air, I prefer to humidify it and may for this purpose use a device, for example, such as is shown.in Fig. 8, though i any known apparatus fulfilling the required function may be utilized. Referring to Fig.

.8, a hollow ring 18, connected to a watersupply by the pipe 19, is provided with a number of nozzles 20, passing through the casing 10 and projecting radially into the space through which the air to be compressed passes. A second ring 21, connected to the compressed-air reservoir through the pipe 22, is arranged within the casing 10, as

shown. From this ring 21 other nozzles 23 project equal in number to the nozzles 20 and so arranged as to project jets of air across the mouths of the nozzles 20. By this means the issuing 'jets of water are thoroughly atomized and tlfe air to be compressed is charged with a fine a ueous spray or mist.

I pre er to so arrange the inlet and discharge passages of the liquid thrower that the pressure of the liquid is at or below atmospheric pressure at the points where the fixed and rotary parts of the apparatus meet, so that packed joints may be unnecessary.

The area of the ipe-Z at the point where it contracts to supp y the thrower b with 'liq uid may be so reduced as to entrain any desired proportion of the total quantity of air compressed. In this case part or' all of the air passes through the thrower and enters the compressing-tubes with the liquid. As

the air-spaces e in such an arrangement become wholly or in part unnecessary, additional nozzles similar to b may be arranged on the thrower.

Another method of working in a closed cycle is shown in Fig. 4, in which the same letters are used as in the previous figures to denote corres onding arts. The ressure energy of the iquid in t e separator s in this case utilized by driving the Pelton wheel or the like 1', the liquid being led from the separator through the pi e s. The Pelton wheel, which is convenient y mounted on the same shaft as the driving-motor t and'thrower b, but which may be connected by any suitable gearing, thus usefully employs the ressure energy of the li uid. The exhaust cm. the Pelton wheel is led away by the pipe 11, to a cooling-pond or other cooler, the liquid being finally returned to the thrower through the p ig. 5 shows an arrangement of parts similar to that in Fig. 4, but adaptedfor use with an open cycle. The. exhaust .liquid from the Pelton wheel is in this case thrown away by way of the pipe a, fresh liquid being suppled to the thrower through thepipe o.

In both of the arrangements shown in Figs.- 4 and 5 if the liquid is supplied to the thrower I) under a head due either to gravity or a pump the supply-pipe t is preferably of a contracting cross-section where it discharges into the thrower, so that the pressure may be IIS ' on a prolongation of this spindle. The com-.

pressing-tubes a deliver into the se aratorchamber 2 and may be arranged, as s own, to pass throu h the jacket 2, surrounding this chamber, t e cooling-water in thisjacket being constantly renewed in any convenient mannerin order to prevent rise of temperature during compression. The com ressed air passes from the separator-sham er by way of the pipe 3. g 'I may allow the discharging-jets as ,they discharge from the compression-tubes a to impinge upon an impact wheel or turbine 4, so as to cause rota: tion, and this power I may utilize, as shown, for instance, in Fig. 6, to aid in driving the centifugal pump or thrower. The turbine itself in this case also acts as an efficient means of separating the air and liquid. The

, convenient motor,

liquid passes Irom the separator-chamber 2 back to the pum and is used over again, to compress a furt er quantity-of air. The power for driving the rotary liquid-piston aircompressorfmay be supplied om any By this part of the invention I am enabled to produce a liquidpiston compressing-pump capable of compressing air isothermally, the dimenslons bemg very small for a great power. It 1S"&0 be

- understood that in all cases I use a separat- ,toit.

ing-chamber for separatin the liquid and compressed air, and where desire very high pressures I may utilize a series of rotary compressors, each one discharging its air into the next.

In carrying out another part of my invention according to one form I provlde a number of fixed tubes 5, as before, into which I discharge (see Figs. 7 and 8) liquid at considerable velocity by means of a rotating piece carrying a suitable number of nozzles 9, rotating within a casing 10. The revolving nozzles may be driven in any convenient manner-as, for instance, by a belt engaging with the pulley .11, or the nozzles themselves may be inclined, so as to assist the rotation by reaction. A series of liquid pistons is thus discharged into the tubes, which may be either parallel or expandin according to the quantity of air entrained, the tubes 5 delivering-into a separating-chamber 12 ,whence the liquid passes to a centrifugal pump or liquid thrower 13 to have its velocity restored The liquid then returns by way of the pipe 14 to the'rotating nozzles, thus completing the cycle. A cooler 15 is arranged at any convenient point in the circuit to prevent undue rise of temperature of the ,com-

, prising a tube, charging said liquid thereinto and positively cutting it off therefrom to form separate liqform ofindependent arranged of such length as to contain a sufficient number of liquid pistons to preclude any possibility of air and liquid blowing back from the separating-chamber.

It is to be clearly Understood that in all these modifications of my invention multiple-stage compression may be adopted when it is desired to obtain air at a very high pressure, and in all cases the liquid circulated is thoroughly cooled between the stages as well as in the ordinary course.

Where a separate centrifugal pump is used to give energy tothe cycle, it may be placed so as to deal either with the liquid or mixture.

My invention is applicable to the production of compressed air or compressed gas of any kind for any purpose, and mercury, oils, water, or any other suitable liquids may be emfployed as the medium of compression.

- aving now described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Let-.

ters Patent, is-

1. An elastic-fluid compressor employing a liquid as the medium of compression, comprising means for giving the liquid velocity,

a plurality of fixed tubes or ductsreceiving the liquid from such means through which the elastic fluid is compressed successively under pressure by said liquid and a means with which said tubes connect for receiving the discharge therefrom.

' 2. An elastic-fluid compressor employing a liquid as the medium of compression commeans for intermittently disuid traveling pistons to entrain and compress the elastic fluid in the form of independent plugs and means for receiving the compressed fluid.

3. An elastic-fluid .compressor employing a liquid as the means of compression, comprising a plurality of fixed tubes or ducts having open ends .andme'ans passing over said open ends .for discharging a highvelocity stream of liquid successivelyinto said open ends, so as to entrain the elastic fluid in the plugs.

4. An elastic-fluid compressor employing a liquid as the medium of compression, com prising a plurality of tubes or ducts ha open ends separated by .sharp edges, and

means passing over said open ends for discharging a high-velocity stream of liquid sucthe elastic fluid in plugs.

cessively mto said open ends so as to entrain the form of independent 5. An elastic-fluid compressor employing a liquid as the medium of compression, com= prising a plurality of tubes or ducts having en ends, means for producing one or more high-velocity streams of liquid and means for causing relative motion between said streams and said open ends presented to them, so as to entrain in said tubes the elastic fluid in the form of independent plugs.

6. Inelastic-fluid compressors employing liquid as the compressing medium, compression tubes or ducts, means for producing one or more high-velocity streams of liquid and for supplying the said liquid to each tube by a succession of feeding actions to form separate liquid traveling pistons and means for receiving the discharge of said tubes, said tubes having thelr cross-sectional areas enlarged toward the said receiving means. q.

. 7. In combination with a chamber, a plurality of fixed ducts or tubes leading thereto and movable means for dischar liquid successively to the said tubes to ormli uid traveling pistons thereinand to entrain e astic fluid for compression.

8. In combination with a chamber, a plurality of fixed ducts or tubes leading thereto and straight in the neighborhood of their inlet ends and movable means for discharging liquid successively to the said tubes to form liquid traveling pistons therein and to entrain elastic'fluid for compression.

9.; In combination with a chamber, a plurality of fixed ducts or tubes leading thereto and straight the neighborhood of their inlet ends, said straight portions having their cross-sectional areas enlarged toward .said' chamber and movable means for discharging liquid successively to the said tubes to form liquid traveling pistons' therein and to entrain elasticfluid for. com ression.

10. In combination wit a chamber, a plurality of ducts or tubes leadin thereto and movable means for dischar ing quid successively to the said tubes to f orm liquid traveling pistons therein and to entrain elastic fluid for compression, the axial direction of the inlet ends of said tubes corresponding to the path in space which would be taken by the articles of liquid shot freely from said disc arge means.

11. In combination with a chamber, a plurality of ducts or tubes leading thereto and movable means having one or more dischargeorifices for discharg liquid successively to the said tubes to forfi i' therein and to entrain elastic fluid for compression, said discharge-orifices being each of area 'sufiicient to cover a plurality of the inlet-openings of said tubes.

12. In combination with a chamber, a plurality of fixed ducts or tubes leading thereto and movable means workin with charges composed wholly of li uid or discharging same successively to eaeh of the said tubes to form liquid travel pistons therein and to entrain elastic fluid or compression.

13. An elastic-fluid compressor employing a liquid asthe medium of compression, comrismg means for giving the necessary velocity to the liquid, a chamber and means for dividing the liquid into separate liquid traveling istons interposed between the chamber and t e said veloc ty-producing means, ducts between saiddividing means. and the chamber, said dividing means comprising a movable part.

- 14. An elastic-fluid compressor employing a liquid as the medium of compression, comprising in combination one or more rotatable ducts, fixed tubes into which liquid passes from said ducts thereby entraining elastic fluid, -a fixed se arating-chamber into which said tubes .discl iarge, cooling means for the compressing liquid and a contracting nozzle throu h which said compressing liquid passes to said rotatable ducts. v

15. An elastic fluid-compressor employing a-liquid as the medium of compression comprising a plurality of tubes or ducts having 0 en ends, means for producing one or more high-velocity streams of liquid, means for ca'us' relative motion between said streams and said open ends presented to them, so as to entrain in said tubes the elastic fluid in the quid traveling pistons 'ICO form of independent plugs, together withl hand in presence of two witnesses.

SEBASTIAN ZTANI DE FERRANTI.

' Witnesses:

ALBERT E. PARKER,

BERTRAM H. MATTHEWS. 

